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Imagineers Share Behind-the-Scenes Look at Frozen Ever After’s Stunning Upgrade at EPCOT
Just one day after Frozen Ever After softly reopened at EPCOT, Walt Disney Imagineering pulled back the curtain on the team that helped bring Arendelle’s royal glow up to life. And let’s just say, this was no small flurry of pixie dust.
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The headline update for the beloved Norway Pavilion attraction was the replacement of the screen-based faces with fully articulated Audio Animatronic heads. Anna and Elsa now feature expressive, dimensional faces that move in sync with their performances, creating a far more lifelike presence during the ride’s musical moments. It is the kind of upgrade that instantly elevates the storytelling and brings the characters closer to their animated counterparts.
Among the Imagineers highlighted was Wyatt Winter, a producer on the original version of Frozen Ever After when it debuted nearly ten years ago. Returning to help guide this refresh adds a full circle moment to the project. Show Angela and John handled lighting enhancements, while Chris, Sean, and Brittney led figure finishing. Ryan coordinated the project’s work with outside partners, ensuring everything came together seamlessly.
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One especially notable contributor was Whitney, who previously helped engineer the articulated heads for Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey at Tokyo DisneySea inside Fantasy Springs. That attraction, which opened in June 2024, introduced the advanced face technology that has now made its way stateside to EPCOT.
The updated figures bring more nuanced expressions, smoother movement, and a stronger emotional connection to key scenes throughout the ride. For longtime fans who remember the original projection faces, the difference is immediate and impressive.
As Frozen Ever After welcomes guests back aboard their boats through Arendelle, it is clear that this refurbishment was more than a quick fix. It was a thoughtful evolution powered by a team of Imagineers dedicated to pushing character realism forward.
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